I really have no idea if Grandmama Olene was crafty. I do know that she joined the Mormon church in Norway with her husband Andrew. They came across the plains to settle in Utah, but they didn’t stay long. Perhaps it was the cushy locomotive transportation then available rather than the soul-refining hardships of the handcarts that led to Olene and Andrew making off for the bright lights of New York City.
Or maybe she just couldn’t keep up with her neighbors when it came to vinyl-ing heartfelt messages for every wall in her house.
You might prefer a white or silver backbone; black is surprisingly elegant.
But I have mastered the art of the Mod Podge (kind of), so Chrysanthemum showed me these cool snowflakes you can make. (And by “you” I mean: anyone who can handle the chenille stems formerly known as “pipe cleaners” without getting punctured or scraped).
Stem and Bead Snowflakes
Step #1: Buy chenille stems and bulk plastic children’s beads. Resist the urge to buy these at a craft store such as Hobby Lobby, even if a trusted blogger raves about the Hobby Lobby. Certain craft supplies like, say, bulk plastic children’s beads (just for example) are FOUR DOLLARS cheaper at Wal-Mart. And no, I’m not at all bitter about paying FOUR DOLLARS more at the Snobby Lobby.)
Push beads firmly to the center to make strands rigid.
Step #2: Cut 6 stems in half and then gather the 12 short stems. Twist another 1/2 stem around the middle, securing the snowflake/star shape. Let kids thread the plastic beads on — this is where chenille stems are great for kids, because unlike bracelets and necklaces (which kids also love to make), the stems catch the beads; much less frustrating for “little” fingers than that slippery stretchy cord used for making jewelry.
Though where there’s a will to properly adorn one’s special pets, little fingers will find a way:
I blame repeated viewings of The Aristocats.
Step #3: Only let the kids have a few beads (Like, 10. Or maybe 20. Okay, 30 MAX) at a time, otherwise you might get this:
I believed it was an "accident" at first.
and this:
Getting more suspicious here. Bits of plastic hitting fake wood sounds a lot like rain.
If you do end up with beads all over the floor, boy, have I got a tip for you. And here is where I would expect Grandmama Olene to be proud of me because? Cleaning up the bead mess? Baby, I rocked that part of our craft experience.
Are you ready? Okay.
To pick up small items, first hope and pray that the floor upon which said small items are scattered has been vacuumed sometime in the last month. Then put a fresh vacuum bag in your vacuum and simply vacuum those puppies up.
Ninety percent of household dust is sloughed skin cells.
Sift in a colander to remove the (miniscule amount of) stuff that actually belongs in the vacuum (which apparently settled on your floor right after that mopping you gave it last night).
I ran these beads under some water. If I weren’t anxiously engaged in exposing my children to immune-boosting household germs, I could’ve soaked them in bleach. But I believe in germs. And convenience. Amen.
What works for you?
Jane
Subscribe by email
Sharla (9)
Big Mamma Frog (7)
Charlotte (6)
Emily H. (6)
rixa (6)
Holy clean floor, Jane. I could find that much grit in a square foot at my house. I love that you involve your girls in crafts – I usually ban my kids when I do that sort of thing. I love the pictures in this post! And even though I’ll never do this craft (because those beads are a SERIOUS choking hazard) it gives me some good ideas.
[Reply]
Mine are beaders, for sure. I love those snowflake/pompoms. So cute!
[Reply]
[...] morning I woke up to zero comments on my Bead Snowflake post. Turning on your computer to zero comments is like standing in front of a bemused Simon Cowell. He [...]
I enjoyed your pictures and your story! We are used to beads on the floor too, since my kids are avid beaded gecko makers. However when they make a mess (but I admit it isn’t usually that big!) they get to pick them up one by one.
[Reply]
My boys LOVE Perler beads. You know, those bead things you put on little pegs in the shape of stars or fish or cats or whatever, and then iron them to melt them together?
Those things get *everywhere.*
And yep, they’re about $4 cheaper at Walmart too.
Snobby Lobby indeed.
[Reply]
Hey wait a minute! This isn’t zero comments!!?? I’ve got a huge bag of beads my SIL gave me and this would be fun, maybe with my preschoolers…or maybe not. And I love how you gathered and cleaned them up…too bad I couldn’t do that since my floor hasn’t been vacuumed in more than a month
[Reply]
I like snowflakes.
[Reply]
BAaaaad, mean commenter persons. BAaaaad commenter lurkers. Especially me! I even though it was so clever that you used your vacuum to suck up the beads and then filtered out the dirt with a collander (sp?). And I was jealous that except for the beads, your kitchen/family room looks so CLEAN! And also envious that you sat down with your kids and really did a project with them. I *mean* to do those kinds of things.
But I lurked instead of commenting about it. And I even have a big, bold sign on my blog that says “Please desist in lurking! I have major validation issues!”
And I still lurk. Sorry! But I did leave at least 10 comments’ worth of blah blah blah on your Kids and Cars post.
Right now I’m consigned that about 3 people comment on my blog on a regular basis. I try to remind myself that MCB’s blog comments only bumped up from about 3 to 7, over the course of more than a year. Even now sometimes she gets no comments on a particular post.
[Reply]
OK, so now that I can comment while you’re sleeping again …
What I want to know is, how many of the beads did Spot eat? Or try to eat? That’s my first thought as I look at a craft project like this with M. Everything still goes in her mouth. Or maybe Spot doesn’t shove so much in her mouth?
The end result is pretty. Might try them in oh, 5 years or so, when M isn’t shoving everything in her mouth or I have more than one child to watch, so I won’t notice the bead eating. And when I figure out what our local equivalent of snobby lobby is.
[Reply]
Kimberly — Well, that’s really not what I meant (I think!). But thank you for your comments, esp the thoughtful ones on the yelling and kids and cars. I wasn’t mad at anyone but myself, and mad at myself for a) writing stuff no one cares about, and b) being surprised that no one cares about crafts –reading about them– any more than I do, and c)for caring whether people commented.
And, you bring up another point. How can I get upset about low
comments when I often don’t have the time or organization to comment
on all the blogs I read (like yours — I do read it!).
Kirsty — I might have worried about the eating thing with my first, but my kids
have turned out to be surprisingly civilized in some areas — though
shockingly uncivilized in others. (In addition to not flushing, my 4
yo doesn’t wipe. Ever. We’re working on it.)
I figure the beads have a big enough hole in them that even if they
did swallow, they’re not going to choke, and I don’t think they’d do
any (much?) intestinal damage either — too smooth.
[Reply]
[...] found dozens of shapes for 99 cents each at the Snobby Lobby, which I might now have to call the Hobby Lobby, as it is hard to accuse a store of snobbery when [...]
[...] my house looked so good in the morning that even when I took pictures of the great bead flood of 2008, Sharla felt bad enough about her own kitchen that she had to leave my post forthwith and go clean [...]